For a moment, I froze, possible ways to proceed flickering through my mind. The sheer power emanating from the being in the cleft made it relatively easy to track its movement along the cleft, away from me and towards the exit on its other side. From there, it would be able to attack either of the other groups, though I guessed that it would take on the main group, simply to deal the most damage before we could scatter. Not that I planned on scattering just yet.

A glance at Ulchia told me that she was wiped out, her strength drained to the point that she was barely standing. Keeping her alive was part of the mission, and I wasn’t about to compromise that just yet.

“Mibo, Gilo, stay with Ulchia, if possible get her away from here. We’ll be able to catch up.” I ordered. For a moment, I considered trying to utilise the fortification, but the Astral Power had settled, detaching itself to the point that bringing it under my control once more would be a difficult, time-consuming process, the amount simply not worth the effort.

Given that all of them could feel the power and sheer malice emanating from the cleft, there was no debate, they simply nodded in acceptance, likely happy not to have to fight that thing.

Springing into motion, I leapt off the wall, exchanging places with Lenore as I fell through the air, letting her take wing. She, too, was somewhat tired from fighting through the night, but both of us had taken as much rest as possible, giving us some room to work with.

“To Sigmir first,” I asked her, taking the minute to calm myself and recover some of my spent power. Lenore simply sent acceptance over our bond, and I could feel that she was worried for the rest of our pack.

To my surprise, the Undead was easily able to keep up with Lenore’s flight speed, staying ahead of us as it made its way through the cleft. If it exited and immediately moved up the slope to attack Sigmir’s group, it would get there a few moments before me. Just that speed drove home how dangerous that thing was, that we wouldn’t be able to run from it.

When it didn’t move towards Sigmir’s group, but up the other side of the slope, towards the main group. Despite some worry for Rai, I was feeling relief, simply because Sigmir wouldn’t be in danger before I could get to her.

Landing on the icy fortifications I had set up, Lenore looked around for a moment, both of us taking in the scene. Sigmir looked slightly battered, though overall fine, while Adra and Mal looked somewhat exhausted. None of them had any lingering injuries I could see, letting me breathe a sigh of relief. Eronui, on the other hand, looked just as wiped out as Ulchia had.

“Adra, Mal, grab Eronui and regroup with Mibo and Gilo. Get the clerics out and, if necessary, back to Gaber.” my command was relayed through Lenore’s mouth, the immediateness making it feel almost as if I was speaking through her beak, using my own voice. Slightly weird, but more comfortable than having her just use my voice.

“Sigmir, Ylva, we’ll go and help the others,” I added, getting a nod of acceptance from her. Adra looked resigned, while I had a feeling Mal wanted to argue, but there was simply no time. Instead of letting her get a word in edgewise, I prompted Lenore to take wing once more, simply flying off, relying on Sigmir to catch up, as Lenore simply soared across the cleft, trying to catch up to the faster Undead.

Even the brief time we had spent giving orders to their group had allowed the Undead to get more of a lead, negating any advantage Lenore gained by taking a shortcut across the cleft. It didn’t take long for us to hear the noise of combat and moments later, we had sight of the fortifications, the Undead and the others, desperately trying to stay alive.

The Skeleton didn’t look too outrageously special at first glance, another one that was clad in the dark, metal armour, this one wielding a large, one-handed sword and a shield, though when seen through Lenore’s magical sight, it became obvious that it was at least as dangerous as the Skeleton Lord we had faced before, maybe more so. In Lenore’s sight, tendrils of Death-Magic were swirling around it, likely harming and maybe healing the Skeleton constantly.

Myra, Rai and Jakyl were fighting together at the front, while Olivia provided support. Kirl, as expected, looked wiped out, kneeling on the floor as if she was about to collapse entirely. At first, the fight looked almost even, Myra holding the skeleton’s attention, with golden shields layered around her and Jakyl providing his magical support, binding the three of them into a single fighting unit. But the difference in power was simply too much.

Lenore was pushing herself forward but there was nothing I could do, as the Skeleton used its shield to ward off one of Myra’s attacks, pushing her off-balance and abusing the opening to strike at her. Just before the Skeleton’s sword could impale her, Rai stepped through the shadows, getting into its range, blades dark with magic.

His furious offensive managed to divert the blow that would likely have killed Myra, despite the golden shields Olivia had layered around her. As things were, it went high, piercing through the shields and biting deeply into Myra’s shoulder, leaving behind lingering traces of magic.

Rai and the Skeleton began exchanging blows, while Jakyl tried to get Myra out from underfoot. It instantly became obvious that Rai would lose. His blades were great weapons when he had time to precisely strike into his foes, especially when they were distracted, but against a heavily armoured foe that was focused on him, they lacked the reach and heft to deal meaningful blows. The bastard sword wielded by the Skeleton drove him back, almost ripping the blades from his hand when he tried to parry, ultimately forcing him to delve into the shadows to evade.

Thanks to Lenore’s sight, I could see a brief clash of magic in the shadows, a clash Rai decisively lost. Instead of turning into a wraith, allowing him to reposition and maybe find an opening, he staggered back a couple of metres away from the skeleton, looking decidedly stunned.

Without hesitation, Lenore and I acted, triggering our Avatar-form as it was the only method we could use to overcome the difference in power. Magic flared around us, as the winds came to our aid, pushing our flying speed beyond what Lenore could achieve on her own. Our blades, carried by the cold winds of the north soared forward, a stream of attacks diverting the Skeleton from finishing off any of our companions, but, as it had been with Rai, the attacks lacked mass.

Interposing ourselves between the Skeleton and our companions, we raised the Skull of Cursed Deliverance in our talons and began pushing back the magic that surrounded the Skeleton. Faced with our speciality, the one that staggered and was overwhelmed was it, if only for a moment. While we could force its magic back and harm it, simply destroying it was beyond us.

There was a slight change in the Skeleton’s movement, a deliberate care that caused our feathers to ruffle. Where before, there had been an almost negligent, playfulness, something we would never have associated with the Undead, we were now faced with the Skeleton Lord, for that was what it Identified as, taking the fight seriously.

With blinding speed, faster than our body could react, it charged forward, shield raised to ward off any blows we might manage to deal. The only weapon in our arsenal fast enough to stop the charge was magic. Runes instantly appeared before us, our eyes and the crown on our head flaring with silvery-blue light for a moment, as a Wall of Ice appeared right before us, blocking the brutal swing of the Undead but taking a chunk of Astral Power to do so.

But regardless of the cost, the wall had bought us a moment and it was a moment we used. If many blades lacked the mass, we simply had to change that. The Blades of the Northern Wind struck into the Wall of Ice we had just made, the Astral Power still connected with us, even the Astral Power that had been wasted in the inefficient creation and was quickly returning to the Astral River, there was still a faint connection. And we pulled on it, forcing the Ice brought by the Northern Wind to obey its Queen.

Laughter bubbled from our lips, as the Blades of the Northern Wind united.

“We have sown the Winds.” We cawed out, a massive Blade of Eternal Ice floating before us, controlled by the Ice-Magic we channelled through our crown.

“Now, it is time to reap the Storm!” Silver light flared all around us, snow starting to fall and flutter in the winds surrounding us, as our Ice-Magic raised the Blizzard Blade, ready to do battle.